There are so many things that happen before, during and after you have a baby, its hard to know what to expect! And the even more frustrating thing is that every birth and every person are totally different.
One thing that I see often as a doula and hear even more about are the shakes. The shakes are what happens during and after labor. The adrenaline and various other hormones, start to flood your body. This causes your body to react similar to fight or flight but because you cant go anywhere and can't stop the pain, your body starts to shake.
The shakes are also a side effect of the epidural. Theres a few reasons this can happen, including hormones and blood pressure. The shakes happen in about 50% of women who get the epidural.
What to do for the shakes during labor
If you get the shakes during or after labor, ask your nurse of a heating pad or warm blanket. Sometimes the warmth from the blanket can ease your nerves a bit and help to calm some of the shaking and teeth chattering.
Another thing that often helps is massaging the leg muscles that are shaking. Massaging the nerves in your legs can also relieve some of the shaking.
If you find yourself experiencing the shakes, ask your doula to help make you move comfortable! We have lots of tricks up our sleeves!
